Kim Hyun Joo has opened up about why she once stepped away from acting for several years, revealing that exhaustion and a heavy sense of responsibility after a major project pushed her to reconsider her career.
The actress appeared with Lee Moo Saeng and Jin Seon Kyu on the October 11 episode of YouTube show *Fairy Jaehyung*, where she looked back on a difficult period early in her career.
Kim Hyun Joo said she had worked almost nonstop for about five years after her debut without feeling properly prepared for the pace.
She recalled, “I was working continuously without being ready, and I felt completely drained, even emotionally.”
Eventually, she decided she needed to stop.
Kim Hyun Joo explained, “I thought, ‘If I keep going like this, I might not be able to keep living this way.’ So I stopped everything and told my agency that I would take three years off.”
One project weighed especially heavily on her. After finishing the large-scale SBS drama *Land*, she said the pressure stayed with her despite receiving recognition for her performance.
She shared, "I received many good awards, but that also became a huge burden. I felt like I had ruined a major production.”
After the drama ended, Kim Hyun Joo bought a ticket to the United Kingdom and spent time alone there in her late 20s, reflecting on what she wanted from life.
At one point, she even considered leaving entertainment entirely.
She said, *“I wondered if I should buy a small truck and sell fruit if I stopped doing this work.”*
After spending time away from Korea, Kim Hyun Joo eventually realized that she missed being on set. She returned to acting but changed the way she approached her career, deciding that she would no longer push herself at the same exhausting pace.
Instead, she adopted a personal rule of taking on about one project a year so she could continue acting without burning herself out.
Kim Hyun Joo is currently starring alongside Lee Moo Saeng and Jin Seon Kyu in tvN’s "100 Days of Deception".
